Editing Datura stramonium (section)

==Range and habitat==
''Datura stramonium'' is native to Central America, but was spread widely to the Old World early where it has also become [[Naturalisation (biology)|naturalized]].<ref name=cabi/> It was scientifically described and named by Swedish botanist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1753, although it had been described a century earlier by [[botany|botanists]] such as [[Nicholas Culpeper]].<ref>{{citation | last = Culpeper | first = Nicholas | title = Culpeper's Complete Herbal | publisher = W Foulsham & Co Ltd | location = Slough | pages = [https://archive.org/details/culpeperscomplet00culp/page/368 368–369] | date = 1653 | isbn = 978-0-572-00203-9 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/culpeperscomplet00culp/page/368 }}</ref> Today, it grows wild in all the world's warm and temperate regions, where it is found along roadsides and at dung-rich livestock enclosures.<ref name="Preissel" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Veblen|first=K.E.|title=Savanna glade hotspots: Plant community development and synergy with large herbivores|journal=Journal of Arid Environments|year=2012|volume=78|pages=119–127|doi=10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.10.016|bibcode=2012JArEn..78..119V|url=https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1315&context=wild_facpub}}</ref><ref>Oudhia P., Tripathi R.S.(1998).Allelopathic potential of ''Datura stramonium'' L.. Crop. Res. 16 (1) : 37-40.</ref> In Europe, it is found as a weed in garbage dumps and wastelands,<ref name="Preissel">{{Cite book| author1 = Preissel, Ulrike  |author2=Hans-Georg Preissel | title = Brugmansia and Datura: Angel's Trumpets and Thorn Apples | publisher = Firefly Books | year = 2002 | pages = 124–125 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fRlIAAAAYAAJ| isbn = 978-1-55209-598-0 }}</ref> and is toxic to animals consuming it.<ref name="Cor">{{cite journal | last1=Cortinovis | first1=Cristina | last2=Caloni | first2=Francesca | title=Alkaloid-containing plants poisonous to cattle and horses in Europe | journal=Toxins| volume=7 | issue=12 | date=8 December 2015 | issn=2072-6651 | pmid=26670251 | pmc=4690134 | doi=10.3390/toxins7124884 | pages=5301–5307| doi-access=free }}</ref> In South Africa, it is colloquially known by the [[Afrikaans]] name {{lang|af|malpitte}} ('mad seeds').<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/samj/article/view/171665/161066 |title=Malpitte Madness |date=1974-12-21 |access-date=2022-01-29 |journal=S. A. Medical Journal}}</ref>

Through observation, the seed is thought to be carried by birds and spread in their droppings.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} Its seeds can lie dormant underground for years and germinate when the soil is disturbed. The [[Royal Horticultural Society]] has advised worried gardeners to dig it up or have it otherwise removed,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hortweek.com/deadly-harry-potter-plant-devils-snare-turns-suffolk-pensioners-garden/landscape/article/925855|title=Deadly Harry Potter plant devil's snare turns up in Suffolk pensioner's garden|access-date=2017-08-30}}</ref> while wearing gloves to handle it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawlishnewspapers.co.uk/article.cfm?id=279&headline=There's%20a%20devil%20in%20my%20garden...&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2009|title=There's a devil in my garden...|work=Dawlish Newspapers|access-date=2017-08-30|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>